Fifteen of the world’s top owner-operators talk survival. 15位世界顶级酒吧的老板和运营人向我们透露成功的秘诀。

1. 灵活调整你的概念。

俄勒冈波特兰克莱德酒吧联合创始人Matt Piacentini还在纽约拥有另外两家酒吧，分别是比格尔（现已停业）和Up & Up，而今年2月开业的Up & Up是他的首家独营酒吧。“克莱德一开始就大获成功，我们从来没有特意想过哪些地方做得不对、需要做出改正。于是，我经营比格尔的时候态度不现实，以为取悦大众本来就是件容易的事情。我的想法是用一种特定的方式来经营，想要吸引行为模式固定的一个特定人群。 但来的人形形色色，有的人喜欢这样，有的人喜欢那样，我完全没有准备蜒我们的概念不灵活。所以，我在筹备下一家酒吧的时候设计了一个特定的系统，但同时又做好了不成功的准备，提前想好了替代办法。灵活性是所有事情的引导性因素。我设计的座位布置既适合一对一对的客人，又适合六个人的小团体。我确保酒单上有一小部分酒品符合多数人的口味，供那些不太熟悉严肃鸡尾酒的客人点用。”

1. Prepare to adapt your concept.
Matt Piacentini is the co-founder of Clyde Common in Portland, Oregon, as well as two bars in New York: The Beagle (now closed) and The Up & Up, his first solo cocktail bar, which opened in February this year. “Clyde Common was such a success from the start that we never had the experience of having ideas not work and need retooling. Because of that I went into The Beagle with an unrealistic attitude that the public was inherently easy to please. I conceived it to run exactly one way for a specific clientele that would act a specific way. When a whole bunch of different people came in, some liked things one way, others a different way, I was unprepared – the concept wasn’t flexible. So with the next bar I built each system to act a certain way, but was prepared for it not to work and had alternatives in place. Flexibility was the guiding factor in everything. I created a seating layout that would work just as well for parties of two as groups of six. I made sure to have a small selection of broad-appeal items for people coming in who may not have experienced serious cocktails.”

2. 和临近社区建立起关系。
本地客人至关重要，Piacentini继续说。“开比格尔之前，我没有调查在附近居住和工作的人群。如果做过调查，我就会发现开业概念有点太正式了。后来光顾酒吧的邻居们向我说了他们的意见，我很快就明白了。我们进行了调整。但开始考量到本地客人之前，我已经失去了大量潜在客人。”

2. Establish relationship with the neighbourhood.
Local patronage is vital, continues Piacentini. “Before I opened The Beagle I didn’t research who lived and worked in the area. If I had, I would’ve seen that my opening concept was a bit formal. I learned that pretty quickly when the neighbourhood folk came in to give me their two cents. We adapted. But I lost a lot of potential regulars before I started factoring locals into my plan.”

3. 只靠周末客人支撑不了酒吧。
“周末客人大都是临时客流，他们喜欢去人气新酒吧蜒他们只会光顾一两次而已。你不能光靠周末的生意。本地客人和周二或周日都会来的常客才是酒吧成功的核心。”

3. Weekends don’t make a bar.
“Weekends are mostly destination traffic who are looking for the hot new place – they’ll come in once or twice, that’s it. You can’t survive on weekends alone. It’s the locals and regulars that come in on a Tuesday or Sunday that are the core to a bar’s success.”

4. 制定一个适当的商业计划。
“这绝对是最重要的一点，”Piacentini表示，“太多调酒师都以为出色的鸡尾酒就能够让自己的酒吧成功。他们认为产品是最重要的。可到了最后，成本、工资税和保险的现实因素会让你感到压力，不得不改变经营理念。‘产品至上’变成了‘利润至上’。产品不再重要，最终酒吧经营也会失败。”

4. Write a proper business plan.
“It’s absolutely the most important thing,” reckons Piacentini. “So many bartenders think being able to make great drinks is enough to build a successful bar of their own. They think the product is everything. What ends up happening is when the reality of expenses and payroll taxes and insurance starts to set in, the concept starts changing. There’s a huge swing from, ‘It’s all about the product’, to ‘It’s all about making money’. The product goes out the window and ultimately the business fails.”

5. 热情好客。热情好客。热情好客。
“五年前，鸡尾酒吧是人们膜拜调酒师惊人技艺的地方，”Piacentini继续说，“我们都以为客人来酒吧是为了欣赏我们调酒。没有人会认为我们不是客人体验的焦点所在。现在，Up & Up的概念有一大部分是打造经典气质的酒吧。除了手凿冰和精准量度，来我们酒吧喝酒的客人总是能看到调酒师脸上的微笑。我们用尽一切手段来避免调酒师成为焦点，客人才是焦点。我们知道他们不是来欣赏调酒的——他们是来享受自我的。”

5. Hospitality. Hospitality. Hospitality. 
“Five years ago, a cocktail bar was a place where people would pay to worship at the altar of a bartender’s amazing skills,” continues Piacentini. “We all had this attitude that people wanted to come to our bars and marvel at what we were doing. The idea that we were not the focus of the customer’s experience simply didn’t exist. Now, at the Up & Up, a huge part of the concept has been about creating a bar in the classic sense. Underneath the hand-cut ice and precision measuring, it’s a place where you can get a drink and see a smiling face on the other side of the bar. We’ve done everything we can to take the focus off the bartenders and give it back to the guest. We understand they’re not there to marvel at our art – they come to enjoy themselves.”

6. 为生意不好的时期做打算。
新开酒吧最常犯的错误？“资金不足。”酒吧老板兼概念设计人Matthew Bax说。他开的德罗姆酒吧（现已停业）是澳大利亚最著名的酒吧之一，最近他还在墨尔本开了繁茂酒吧。不要只考虑开业资金，他继续说道。“你需要额外的资金来维持酒吧经营的高标准，不能偷工减料——无论什么酒吧都会经历生意不好的时期。”

6. Plan for hard times. 
Most common mistake of start-up bars? “Under capitalisation,” reckons Matthew Bax, bar owner-conceptualist behind one of Australia’s most feted bars Der Raum (now shuttered) and, more recently, Bar Exuberante, a new opening in Melbourne. Don’t just think about start-up capital, he continues. “You need spare cash to keep running your bar at a high standard without cutting corners – the quiet weeks will come no matter who you are.”

7. 调酒师和酒吧老板之间有着极大差距。
“开了第一家酒吧之后，我以前的生活彻底结束了，”Bax继续说，“我非常喜欢创意控制的自由，但你每时每刻都和酒吧结合在一起蜒很难完全放松下来。”

7. The space between bartender and bar owner is epic.
“After I opened my first bar, my life, as I knew it, was over,” continues Bax. “I love the freedom of creative control but you are married to the venue 24-7 – it’s very hard to switch off.”

8. 准备好心态上的巨大转变。
“关键是完成从专才到通才的转变，”上海Starling酒吧联合创始人Adam Devermann说，“以前你只要每天调酒就好，但现在你要了解COGS（销售成本）、会设计酒单、会创造概念、了解劳动法、会谈判供应商合同、会做收益预测蜒这需要一个很大的心态转变。这并不容易，需要花时间去学——但你在开酒吧前一定要学会。”

8. Prepare for a huge shift in mind-set.
“It’s about making a move from specialist to generalist,” says Adam Devermann, co-founder of Starling, Shanghai. “Moving from a daily drinks maker to someone who understands, say, COGS (cost of goods sold), how to write a menu, develop a concept, understand employment law, negotiate supplier contracts, forecast profits – that requires a big mental leap. It’s not easy and takes time to learn – but learn it before you open your own venue.”

9. 娱乐？只在我的记忆里存在。
“任何以为开酒吧很有趣的人都不适合做酒吧老板，”新加坡顶级鸡尾酒吧老板Abhishek Cherian George说，“你尤其不能认为开酒吧就是去城中或全世界的酒吧花钱体验。我在我的酒吧里住了一年才让它有序运转。如果你不能全力投入，那就放弃开酒吧这个念头。”

9. Fun? I remember that.
“Anybody who thinks owning a bar is a fun job shouldn’t do it,” says Abhishek Cherian George, owner of The Spiffy Dapper, one of Singapore’s best cocktail bars. “Especially if you think it’s about spending money and drinking at bars around town/the world. I lived in my bar for a year before it was able to run on its own. If you can’t go all in – don’t go in at all.”

10. 保持专业性。
人们对开酒吧的最大误解？“人们以为我们总是艳遇不断，”George回答说，“那不是真的。而且，和客人上床不是件明智的事情蜒就像和员工上床一样。”

10. Keep it professional.
Biggest misconception about owning a bar? “That we get laid a lot,” replies George. “Doesn’t really happen. Besides, fucking your customers is a stupid thing to do – just like fucking your staff.”

11. 培养积极的商业意识。
“身为酒吧老板，你必须不断地从长远角度进行考量，”上海Logan’s Punch创始人Logan Brouse说，“调酒师的想法是，哦，今天是星期二，客人不多，我可以休息一下，不用干太多活。而酒吧老板的想法是，该死，今天是星期二，让我们创造更多收入，让我们做点什么吧！身为酒吧老板，你必须激励每位员工。如果我只是坐在角落里不去留心，那么其他人也都不会在乎。”

11. Develop an energetic business sense.
“As a bar owner you have to be constantly looking at the bigger picture,” says Logan Brouse, founder of Logan’s Punch, Shanghai. “As a bartender, you’re thinking, OK, it’s Tuesday night, it’s not going to be busy, so I can just hang out and not do too much. As a bar owner, it’s more like, Fuck, it’s a Tuesday night, let’s get some revenue going, let’s do something! As the owner, you have to motivate everybody. If I’m slumped in the corner not paying attention – nobody else will care.”

12. 找到一位可靠的管道工。
“建造酒吧的很大一部分和水有关，”Brouse继续说，“不仅仅是水池、洗手间缮如果我们早就知道该怎样安装下水管，那当时我的生活就好过多了。”他酒吧吧台下方有一根下水管是开业数月后才安装的。“我不知道要专门提出要求，我想当然地以为设计师会搞定。我在开业之前无比希望自己有更多技术知识。”

12. Find a dependable plumber.
“So much of setting up a bar is about water,” continues Brouse. “Not just the sinks, toilets… If we’d known how to properly install our drains my life would’ve been so much easier.” A drain beneath his bar top was installed several months after opening. “I didn’t know to ask for it – I took for granted the designer would take care of it. I would’ve killed to have more technical knowledge before we opened.”

13. 酒吧不会自动运转。
“一般来说，杰出酒吧的老板也在自己的酒吧里工作。”Jason Scott说。他联合创办的巴克斯特客栈和松树荫沙龙是悉尼最受好评的两家酒吧之一。“如果是从零开始打造酒吧，你要慢慢呵护它成长，每天都要去酒吧工作，确保它达到最佳表现。客人马上就能感受到这种投入。酒吧一开业，身为老板的你必须去吧台后面调酒，从而立刻了解到客人的反馈和员工的动态，一发现服务问题就解决掉。当然，有问题员工最终会告诉你，但是，如果你在整个晚上有20次被冰箱狠狠撞到了腿，你就会更快地发现它摆错了地方。”

13. The show doesn’t run itself.
“Generally, the people who own the great venues here also work in them,” says Jason Scott, co-founder of The Baxter Inn and Shady Pines Saloon, two of the most highly rated bars in Sydney. “If you build something from scratch, nurture it into life and work there everyday, you want to make sure it’s the best it can be. Guests immediately recognise that kind of dedication. When you first open, as an owner, it’s important to get behind the stick to be immediately aware of customer feedback, get the feel of the staff dynamic and solve any service issues as soon as they arise. Sure, the staff will tell you eventually, but you’ll know the fridge is in the wrong place much sooner if you’re smashing your own knee on it 20 times a night.”

14. 不要在施工时偷工减料。
“开酒吧最困难的部分是确保遵守建筑规范，”Scott说，“大家都告诉我施工过程将比我预计的长两倍、贵两倍蜒但它仍然让我震惊。”

14. Don’t cut corners in construction.
“Toughest part of opening is managing building code compliance,” adds Scott. “Everyone tells you that the build will always take twice as long and cost twice as much as your budget – but it’s still a shock.”

15. 客人比你的华丽调酒工具更重要——总是如此。
“我希望当初开第一家酒吧之前更多地考虑到了客人的需求。”国际酒吧顾问Paul Mathew说。他是伦敦三家酒吧的联合创始人，包括海德、Demon, Wise & Partners和套汇人。“身为调酒师，我想要确保酒吧装修得很好、吧台后面的设备很合用、调酒有效率、我们能够尽可能调制出最好的鸡尾酒。但我没有在每个座位上坐下，想象自己是一个客人。我们最初采用的座位有些很好看，但坐上去并不舒服。还有些座位很舒服，但看不到吧台，也很难招呼到楼面员工。最终我们对布局进行了多次重新设计，让每位客人都感觉很好，服务流程也更顺畅。酒品有多出色并不重要蜒如果客人感觉不舒服，其他一切都无关紧要。

15. The customer is more important than your fancy bar tools – always. 
“I wish I’d considered more things from a customer’s perspective before we opened our first bar,” says Paul Mathew, international bar consultant and co-founder of three London bars, The Hide, Demon, Wise & Partners and The Arbitrager. “As a bartender, I wanted to make sure the bar looked great, that the equipment behind the bar was fit for purpose, that drinks could be made efficiently and that we could make the best cocktails possible. What I didn’t do was sit in every seat and imagine I was a customer. Some of our original seats looked great but were uncomfortable. Others were comfortable but you couldn’t see the bar and were difficult for floor staff to reach. We ended up redesigning the floor layout a few times so every guest felt right and the service flow worked better. It doesn’t matter how amazing the drinks are – if people are uncomfortable, nothing else matters.”

16. 不要草率从事。
“酒吧之所以如此频繁地开开关关，是因为缺乏管理或商业经验，”上海Union Trading Company老板兼创始人陆遥说，“仅仅因为赢了比赛或小有名气，某位调酒师就吸引到了开酒吧的资金蜒这种情况我们看得太多了。但他们忘记了，成为好的调酒师不代表成为好的领导或酒吧老板。缺乏远见和领导使得酒吧无法坚持下去。再加上糟糕的决策、对成本和细节的忽视，酒吧自然关门大吉。”

16. Don’t jump in too early. 
“The reason why we see such a high turnover of bars is the lack of management or business experience,” says Lu Yao, owner-founder of Union Trading Company in Shanghai. “We see a lot of places open by bartenders who’ve managed to attract capital because they won a competition or got some publicity. But they forget: being a good bartender has nothing to do with being a leader and a good bar owner. Bars tank because of a lack of vision and leadership. Combine that with poor decision making, lack of attention to cost and detail, and the bar’s going under.”

17. 概念应该具有独创性⋯⋯
“许多酒吧失败的原因是身份不明确，”陆遥补充道，“大城市里的人被各种选择宠坏了。每家酒吧都需要有一个清晰的概念，这样才能找到属于自己的细分市场，并最终将自己和城中其他数百家酒吧区分来。”

17. The concept should be original…. 
“A lot of bars fail because they don’t have a clear identity,” adds Lu. “Folks in big cities are spoiled by choice. Every bar needs a clear concept so they can find their own niche markets and ultimately differentiate themselves from the hundreds of other bars in town.”

18. ⋯⋯但时机也要恰到好处。
新加坡人气酒吧阿萨姆冷饮摊的联合创始人Sam Wong认为，关键是对市场饱和度的理解。“我们在两年前开业的时候，新加坡手工鸡尾酒圈已经在不断升温，所以我们必须找到一个与众不同的定位。不过，经验告诉我们不能把与众不同作为唯一的努力目标蜒你不能离潮流太远。我们在开业前花了许多时间来讨论如何找到平衡。”

18. ….but also well timed. 
Co-founder of popular Singapore drinkery Ah Sam Cold Drinks Stall, Sam Wong reckons understanding the maturity of your market is key. “Even when we started two years back the craft cocktail scene in Singapore was already heating up and it was necessary to find a niche to stand out. Still, we knew from experience that we shouldn’t go all out just to be different  – you can’t jump too far ahead of the curve. Finding that balance took a lot of discussion before we opened.”

19. 水涨船高。
新加坡鸡尾酒行业的发展离不开酒吧之间的合作精神，Wong说。“尽管业内竞争非常激烈，我们仍然是一个联系非常紧密的团体。这正是新加坡鸡尾酒行业的美妙之处——不管你是在时髦酒吧还是在老店屋工作，‘部落’精神仍然流行。大家都在互相帮助。”

19. Rising tide lifts all boats. 
Singapore’s development as a cocktail city is partly due to a co-operative ethos between bars, says Wong. “Even though the scene is very competitive, we’re a very compact, close-knit community. That’s the beauty of the scene in Singapore: whether you’re working at a posh venue or an old shophouse, the “kampong” [“community”] spirit still prevails; everyone helps each other.”

20. 酒吧是一门生意，不是你个人的展示厅。
怎样的调酒师做酒吧老板是最糟糕的？“开酒吧只为向其他调酒师炫耀的那种。”获奖级旧金山酒吧恶作剧小狗的经理Morgan Schick说。他也是享乐人生酒吧咨询公司的创意总监。“经营酒吧有一点很重要，那就是要懂得你在为客人服务。如果你只供应自己喜欢的酒、只播放自己喜欢的音乐、只采购自己喜欢的啤酒，那么你只能吸引到两个受众蜒你自己和你的妈妈（她不得不表示喜欢）。这种态度也适用于接受你雇员的风格。每个人追求目标的道路都不一样，经营酒吧意味着让员工去走自己的路，你只需确保目标是正确的。”

20. A bar is a business. Not a showroom for your own ego. 
What kind of bartenders make the worst bar owners? “The ones that open bars for other bartenders,” replies Morgan Schick, bar manager of award-winning San Francisco bar Trick Dog and creative director of bar consultancy Bon Vivants. “A crucial thing in running a bar is to understand that you are serving your guests. If you only serve drinks that you like, only play the tunes you like, only stock the beers you like, then you will have an audience of two: you, and your mum (and she has to like it). This attitude extends to accepting the styles of your employees as well. Everyone has a different route to the same goal – running a bar means letting the staff follow their route and just ensuring the goal is right.”

21. 让你的调酒师们做自己。
上海鸡尾酒吧Epic的老板之一余天音也持相同观点。“身为老板，你要熟悉你的员工，要了解他们不同的个性。我鼓励我的调酒师拥有个性，我不希望他们都是同样的风格。我不告诉他们该怎样。我让他们自己找到方法来平衡个性和职责。”

21. Let your bartenders be themselves.
Co-owner of Shanghai cocktail bar Epic, Cross Yu agrees. “As an owner, get to know your staff and understand their different characters. I encourage my bartenders to be individual – I don’t want them all to have the same style. I don’t tell them how to be. I let them find their own way to balance their personality with their job responsibilities.”

22. 投资你的团队。
“新酒吧运营人常犯的错误之一是酒吧培训不足，”德国顶级调酒师、科隆新酒吧小链环老板Stephan Hinz说，“最重要的不是酒吧老板，而是团队。如果没有经验丰富、技巧娴熟的调酒师支持，那么世界上最好的酒吧老板也会失败。”

22. Invest in your team.
“One of the most common mistakes new bar operators make is insufficient bar training,” says Stephan Hinz, one of Germany’s top bartenders and owner of Little Link, a new bar in Cologne. “It’s not just about the bar owner – it’s about a team. The best bar owner in the world will fail without the backing of experienced, properly in-the-know bartenders.”

23. 不要急着雇用酒吧经理。
“根据我的经验，老板和经理之间的关系是最重要的，”纽约人气酒吧闲人免进的创始人Dushan Zaric说，“如果酒吧老板对自己的员工都不友好，那么他们也无权期待员工对客人友好。俗话说得好，‘上梁不正下梁歪’。”

23. Take your time hiring a bar manager.  
“In my experience, the relationship between owner and manager is the most important thing,” reckons Dushan Zaric, founder of Employees Only, one of the most successful cocktail bars in New York. “If the bar owner is not hospitable to their staff then they have no right to expect that their staff will, in turn, be hospitable to their guests. As the saying goes, ‘The fish stinks from the head down’.”

24. 提供体验，而非鸡尾酒。
“你必须让自己的酒吧与众不同。”Zaric补充道。他的酒吧为呆到凌晨4点的客人提供鸡汤，以表达感谢之情。“只有将人的因素包括进来，你的酒吧才能持续经验下去。所以，问问你自己。你的客人觉得自己受欢迎吗？他们觉得自己属于这个地方吗？他们想留下吗？他们明天还会来吗？他们会把你的酒吧介绍给朋友吗？你必须时刻想着这些问题。酒饮品质不应该成为商业计划的基础。如今，每家酒吧都有日本工具，每家酒吧都有冰条。问题在于，你的酒吧能为客人提供怎样的情感体验？”

24. Offer experiences, not cocktails. 
“You have to make your bar different,” adds Zaric, whose bar became famous for its thank-you chicken broth, served to all guests who stay until 4am. “The only way that can happen and lead to a sustainable business is if you include a human element. So, ask yourself, Do your guests feel welcome? Do they feel like they belong? Do they want to stay? Will they come tomorrow? Will they tell their friends? These are the questions that need to be on your mind. The quality of the drink is not something you can base a business plan on. These days, everyone has Japanese tools, everyone has ice blocks. The question is, ‘What emotional experience is the guest getting at your bar?’”

25. 不要让酒吧概念打折扣。
鸡尾酒收藏家Martin Cate是旧金山最多产的酒吧老板之一，也是美国优秀提基酒吧走私者小湾的创始人。他在打造单一种类酒吧方面有着独特见解：“重要的是全心投入你的概念。你需要邀请客人一起分享你的理念，让他们感到受欢迎。你要让他们欣赏这个理念，这样他们才会参与进来。他们不用了解全部细节，但他们知道这个理念得到了彻底实现。在我的酒吧，客人一进门就会拿到酒单，上面写着我们的理念以及背后的原因。由于其他烈酒的选择有限，他们会觉得最好的体验应该是朗姆酒。这个方法奏效了，我们销量的93%都来自朗姆鸡尾酒或朗姆酒纯饮。”

25. Don’t half-ass your idea. 
Rum collector Martin Cate is one of San Francisco’s most prolific bar owners and the founder of Smuggler’s Cove, considered one of best tiki bars in the US. On the challenges of developing a single-category bar: “The important thing is to fully commit to your concept. You need to invite guests into your vision and make them feel welcome. You’re hoping to get them invested in the idea so they’ll participate. They won’t know all the details but they’ll know if the idea isn’t fully realised. When our guests arrive they are presented with a menu that announces what we do and why we do it. By limiting their selection of other spirits they get a sense that their best experience probably lies with a rum drink. And it works: 93 per cent of our sales are rum cocktails or neat rum serves.”

26. 开酒吧不会让你暴富。
“不要期待自己赚进大量钞票。”西雅图卡农酒吧老板兼运营人Jamie Boudreau说。他的酒吧拥有世界上最大的美国威士忌收藏。“现实是你赚的钱还比不上当调酒师时候的收入，如果按小时算的话。但它是值得的。开酒吧最好的一点是成功或失败都出自你手。是的，你以前喜欢的和行业有关的许多事情都会消失。但你将自己的作品展现在世人面前，吸引了许多满意的回头客蜒这是一种回报。”

26. Owning a bar won’t make you rich. 
“Don’t expect to make tons of money,” says Jamie Boudreau, owner-operator of Canon, the Seattle bar with the largest American whiskey collection in the world. “The reality is you’ll make less money than you would as a bartender if you break down the hours. But it’s worth it. The best part about owning a bar is knowing that the successes and failures are all yours. Yes, a lot of the things that you loved about the industry will disappear. But you’ll be rewarded by putting your creation out there and seeing happy patrons return day after day.”

27. 不要因为任何事情而退缩。
本文几乎所有的受访人都表示，尽管有各种困难，但开酒吧是一种极其有营养的人生体验。或许陆遥的话最好地表达了这一点：“我们能够用自己相信的方式去为客人提供体验，得到他们的喜爱和支持，这无疑令人非常兴奋。这是一种最让我感恩的体验。”

27. Don’t let anything put you off.
Almost all the interviewees for this article said, despite the pitfalls, owning-running a bar is a profoundly nourishing life experience. Perhaps Lu Yao says it best: “The feeling of being able to provide guest experiences in a way we believe in, to get the love and support from our guests, it’s absolutely exhilarating. The most humbling experience I’ve ever had.”